NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Sam Bradford jumped
around as he took a victory lap at Owen Field, handing
out high-fives along the way to a line of adoring fans
that had yet another reason to love him.

Bradford has the Oklahoma Sooners surging in the
national championship race, raising his own Heisman
stock as he goes. And, oh, what a mighty fall it was
for Texas Tech.

Bradford threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns,
and DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined to run
for five more scores as the fifth-ranked Sooners brought
an unceremonious end to No. 2 Texas Tech's run toward
perfection in a 65-21 blowout Saturday night.

''I can't remember a game where I even had near
as much fun,'' Bradford said.

The question now is this: Did the Sooners (10-1,
6-1 Big 12) do enough to make up for that loss to Texas?

The Longhorns have held a trump card since the annual
Red River Rivalry game in October, having beaten Oklahoma
45-35 on a neutral field at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

But the Sooners came up with as resounding a statement
as they could by stifling Graham Harrell , who came
into Norman as the Heisman Trophy favorite but might
have relinquished that title to Bradford.

''Obviously, now we're in the mix with everybody,''
Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. ''With the way we played,
you would think ahead.

''The logic of whether to put us in front of Texas?
If you can't do that because they beat us, then you've
got to keep Texas Tech in front of Texas. What's logical
for one is logical for the other.''

Harrell was 33-for-55 for 361 yards and three touchdowns,
which looks good on paper, but most of those numbers
didn't mean much. Michael Crabtree , who leads the
nation with 18 touchdown catches but, was kept out
of the end zone by the Sooners.

Neither one came out to talk to reporters afterward.
Only running back Baron Batch and linebacker Brian
Duncan joined coach Mike Leach in the interview room.

''We really wanted to do well, and we went out there
and over-tried instead of doing routine things,'' Leach
said.

The Red Raiders (10-1, 6-1) fell into a three-way
tie atop the Big 12 South with Texas and Oklahoma,
with only one week left in the regular season. If the
three finished tied, the BCS standings would determine
which team plays No. 12 Missouri in the Big 12 championship
game in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 6.

So the Bowl Championship Series controversy could
come early this season, a week before the pairings
are even set.

The Big 12 South race isn't over yet, though. There's
still the matter of the Bedlam rivalry, and this time
it's Oklahoma's turn to go on the road to face No.
11 Oklahoma State. The Longhorns will face their in-state
rival, too, and will need to break a two-game losing
streak against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day.

Texas Tech finishes its regular season against Baylor,
and could still sneak into the Big 12 title game with
an Oklahoma State upset.

''I don't know why we would be the hunted. We didn't
accomplish nothing,'' Murray said. ''We just won. We're
not No. 1. We haven't won anything. We haven't won
a national championship since 2000.

''We're still hunting to get to where we need to
be and get to where we want to be. As far as that goes,
we're still playing with a chip on our shoulder.''

Oklahoma will have to deal with that next week.
This week was all about dominance.

The suddenly stingy Sooners held Tech scoreless
on five straight possessions for the first time this
season, and got to Harrell - who'd been sacked only
five times all season - on back-to-back plays in the
first quarter while the nation's highest-scoring offense
kept on clicking.

Juaquin Iglesias put Oklahoma up 28-0 when he zipped
across the middle to catch a pass from Bradford and
then stopped in his tracks at the 15 to juke a pair
of defenders and clear his way to the end zone for
a 28-yard score.

Desperate to make something happen, Harrell made
matters worse in the final minute before halftime.
His pass across the middle was right at Travis Lewis
, who intercepted it and ran it back to the doorstep.
Murray punched it in with a 1-yard dive, and the Sooners'
lead reached 42-7.

That sent the noisy fans - who'd been challenged
by Stoops this week for not being raucous enough -
into a frenzy. The Sooners joined the record-setting
sellout crowd of 85,646 by hopping up and down on the
sideline as House of Pain's ''Jump Around'' blared
over the loudspeaker.

''It was the best feeling ever. The crowd was nuts,''
cornerback Dominique Franks said.

Leach tried a desperation onside kick to start the
second half, but that failed, and the next drive ended
with a Shannon Woods fumble that Keenan Clayton returned
to the 3 to set up another Brown touchdown.

''It's no fun, but it's something you have to learn
from,'' Batch said.

''Jump Around'' played again in the break after
the third quarter and one last time after Texas Tech
scored a meaningless touchdown with 21 seconds left.

Fans got one last chance to cheer as Bradford and
the Sooners took a rare victory lap.

Bradford's four passes pushed him past the school
record of 40 in a season, set by Jason White in his
2003 Heisman season. And maybe that kind of finish
is in the cards for him, too.

''That's great, but I'd much rather have the wins,''
Bradford said. ''As long as we win, I'm happy.''

Murray finished with 125 yards and two touchdowns,
and Brown added 108 yards and three scores as the Sooners
ran roughshod over a defense that had improved enough
this year to turn the Red Raiders from just an outstanding
offense to the complete package.

That was all torn apart on Owen Field, where the
Sooners have won 24 straight games - the longest home
winning streak in the country and one away from the
school record.

''I don't know what else, what other style points
you're looking for,'' Stoops said. ''That's about as
solid and complete as anybody's played those guys.''

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Boomer Bytes | View
Main
Updated each weekday morning and following games,
Boomer Bytes is your quick guide to Sooners in the
news:

 From ESPN: "In the wake of Oklahoma's crushing
65-21 defeat of Texas Tech, the Sooners must refocus
on playing at No. 12 Oklahoma State. The rivalry is
called the Bedlam Series, which is mostly wishful thinking.
The results have been downright
orderly. Oklahoma, winner of five straight over
Oklahoma State, leads..."

 From the Associated Press: "I don't think this
week was good news for Texas," Palm said of Sunday's
standings. "Oklahoma can only get better in all three
parts of the formula and Texas can't. I would expect
if Oklahoma wins next week they'd
finish ahead of Texas." That's important because
the Big 12 South division title..."

 From NBC Sports: "Bradford saved some of his
best stuff for his biggest stage to date, and for that
reason he ascends
to the top of the Heisman race. In a must-win game
against Texas Tech, Bradford completed 14-of-19 for
304 yards and four touchdowns with nary a pick. Coming
up big in big games is what Heisman..."

 From Rivals: "OU figures to get a bump this
week if it can win Saturday at Oklahoma State (9-2),
which is 12th in the BCS standings. Texas plays host
to Texas A&M (4-7), and even a victory over the Aggies may
not be enough for Texas to stay ahead of the Sooners
in the computers. Texas' computer..."

 Gil Lebreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "The
empire struck back Saturday night. And struck. And
struck. And struck. The Oklahoma Sooners, winners of
more Big 12 Conference championships than
anyone, are no strangers to well-hyped, late-season
football contests with BCS implications. Head..."

 Brad Edwards of ESPN: "It seems that the only
chance Texas has of holding off this charge
by the Sooners, other than an Oklahoma loss, is
for several voters who may have spontaneously reacted
to OU's impressive victory over Texas Tech to decide
this week that head-to-head should be a deciding factor
between..."

 Matthew Zemek of FOX Sports: "In a nasty and
evidently angry performance that unleashed a lot of
pent-up frustration on the college football world,
the Oklahoma Sooners -- owners of five conference titles
this decade -- made a very loud
statement to their doubters, while making the BCS
race a whole lot more..."

 Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World: "Sam
Bradford enhanced his Heisman chances. The defense
put its usual Owen Field stranglehold on Mike Leach's
offense. But if you're an Oklahoma fan giving thanks
for the Sooners' 65-21 slaughter of Texas Tech Saturday
night, you'd better save some for DeMarco
Murray..."

 Mike Lopresti of USA Today: "Plenty
of style points when you crush the No. 2 team in the
nation, 65-21. Plenty of real ones on the scoreboard,
too. As statement games go, this mashing of Texas Tech
was as
subtle as a tidal wave. From Sam Bradford needing
only 19 passes to throw for 304 yards and four..."

 Thayer Evans of the New York Times: "Oklahoma's
dominance of Texas Tech was evident
from the outset. On the Sooners' opening possession,
they scored in less than four minutes, taking a 7-0
lead on tailback DeMarco Murray's 1-yard run. After
punts by both teams, Texas Tech drove all the way to
the Sooners..."

 From TV by the Numbers: "Not much to
say about Saturday night. ABC won easily as Oklahoma
put a major
beat-down on Texas Tech. I was expecting a close
game between the then #2 Red Raiders and the #5 Sooners
that would hopefully come down to which team had the
ball last. Not even close! The Sooners..."

 Dennis Dodd of CBS: "The lobbying already has
begun. Texas sports information was text
messaging national writers at the Oklahoma-Texas
Tech game reminding them that the 'Horns beat Oklahoma
and Big 12 North champ Missouri. While Leach was weighing
in, Stoops probably wished he could. OU's coach..."

 Tim Griffin of ESPN: "The Sooners' final margin
Saturday night over Texas Tech was 65-21 and, truthfully,
could have been worse. So much for any kind of style
points. These Sooners just prefer to mash opponents into
oblivion after scoring the most points that Tech
has ever allowed in its 84-season football..."

 From USA Today: "Whether coaches like
to admit it, there are style points in college football. Oklahoma
used them to their advantage, and the Sooners might
now be in a position to play for the Bowl Championship
Series title. As usual in college football, there could
also be controversy. On the strength of Oklahoma's..."

 Tim Griffin of ESPN: "But it shows what will
be as big a battle off the field as on it as two monolithic
football programs with the public-relations machines
to match. It should be interesting to see how everything
unfolds. Texas failed in its biggest road test this
season and so did Texas Tech. Now, it will be Oklahoma's..."

 Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman: "The
Sooners started jumping early. Jumping, jumping, jumping,
like the sidelines were spring loaded. Jumping like
kids turned loose in a mattress factory. Truth is,
they'd been jumping
for days. "Last week," said defensive tackle Gerald
McCoy. "It started last week. We came to..."

 From the Los Angeles Times: "In Norman,
the Bowl Championship Series national title race got
messier and more clearly defined. Oklahoma handed Texas
Tech a first loss so
ugly it may require plastic surgery. The Sooners'
65-21 Lubbock-kicking was so thorough it probably knocked
Texas Tech completely out of the national title picture..."

 Pat Forde of ESPN: "There was one other noise
audible on the plains Saturday night -- audible all
the way south of the Red River, deep in the heart of
Texas. The Longhorns are hearing hoofbeats behind them
from the onrushing Sooner Schooner. Don't look back,
Texas. Oklahoma
is gaining on you..."

 From the Austin American-Statesman: "Oklahoma's
big jump is a rather
remarkable leap for a team so late in the season,
and it certainly doesn't portend well for Texas' chances
at remaining ahead of Oklahoma in the BCS standings.
Oklahoma finishes next week with Oklahoma State, and
a Sooner victory in Stillwater would carry..."

 Spencer Hall of the Sporting News: "With
a three-way tie in the Big 12 South, the tiebreaker
goes to the team with the best BCS rating. Two-thirds
of that begins with the polls, which begins with the
voters, which explains why Mack Brown was on ESPN's
Gameday launching his charm-offensive
schmoozing with..."

 Clay Horning of the Norman Transcript: "The
Sooners don't have to say anything. Not anymore. They
need not point at a scoreboard nor break out the pie
charts and graphs. A demonstration is not in order.
Because everybody
was watching Saturday night. Everybody was watching
the Sooners..."

 Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated: "And
on a chilly November night, nearly the entire stadium
stayed until the final gun to salute their conquering
heroes even though they'd put away 10-0 Texas Tech
by halftime of an eventual 65-21 laugher. For all that
celebrating, you'd never know the 10-1 Sooners are
not yet..."

 Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: "There
was a mythical character born in those first years
as he was re-establishing the greatness of football
at Oklahoma. Remember Big Game Bob? Maybe that's what
Saturday night was all about. This was Oklahoma's statement.
The Sooners had lost three of..."

 Matt Hayes of the Sporting News: "Texas
Tech had given up five sacks all season. Oklahoma was
without its starting defensive ends. Guess who won
that battle? Tech's struggles on offense -- scoring
nearly 30 points below its season average -- can be
traced, as much as anything, to a lack of protection.
The Sooners had four sacks..."

 From the Los Angeles Times: "In the
other game, Oklahoma annihilated Texas Tech, 65-21.
The Sooners piled up five touchdowns in just the second
quarter and were leading 42-7 at halftime. Now that's
how you score
style points. So we put those results into our
calculators ... crunchcrunchcrunch ... and with six
games to go, there are..."

 John Heuser of the Ann Arbor News: "Texas
Tech's brief run atop my Associated Press top 25 ballot
came to a crashing end, courtesy of a Big 12 beatdown
at the hands of Oklahoma. The 65-21 Sooners' victory
made me wonder whether to elevate
them to the No. 1 position this week. In the end,
I decided to push..."

 John Hoover of the Tulsa World: "They
call Oklahoma-Oklahoma State "Bedlam." But that can
wait until next week. This? This was "Pandemonium." OU
defensive tackle Gerald McCoy sprinted to the stands
and hugged anyone within six feet of the front row.
Sooner assistant coach Chris Wilson stood his..."

 Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: "If
Leach's price drops, it's because he faced vintage
Stoops. Then, with time to prepare, Stoops went
back to his defensive roots. He said afterward there
was nothing fancy about it. "We tackled in space, got
good pressure, covered well," he said. Fundamental
stuff..."

 John Shinn of the Norman Transcript: "Owen
Field was overfilled Saturday
night. Most expected to see a game they'd never seen
before. No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 2 Texas Tech were two
of the highest-scoring teams in college football. Some
thought 100 points might be possible. Might have been
if the Sooners..."

 Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star: "It
looked like a "Dancing with the Stars" audition for
players, coaches and the 85,000 not wearing black. "That's
the most
fun I ever had playing a football game," Oklahoma
quarterback Sam Bradford said. The party was on. The
fifth-ranked Sooners were well on their way..."

 Guerin Emig of the Tulsa World: "The
most demonstrative display of the night came after
the Sooners took a 42-7 lead right before halftime.
DeMarco Murray plunged into the end zone, the stadium
speakers blared the song "Jump
Around" by House of Pain, and nearly every OU fan
started bouncing up and down..."

 Mike Jones of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "The
Sooners sacked
Tech quarterback Graham Harrell four times, this
against an offensive line that had allowed only five
through 10 games. That included two in a row by Adrian
Taylor and Gerald McCoy to break a string of 80 passes
since the last TT sack. Three times OU..."

 From the Kansas City Star: "On a day
when Texas did not play, Oklahoma scored its most resounding
victory of the season, and in the three games of
the Oklahoma/Tech/Texas round-robin, the Sooners' triumph
on Saturday was easily the most impressive. That could
lift Oklahoma over Texas in today's BCS standings.
Entering the..."

 From the San Antonio Express-News: "If
it seemed like No. 5 Oklahoma spent the bulk of Saturday
night toying withNo. 2 Tech -- employing every bit
of playful
cruelty short of bringing Lucy off the bench to
hold for Charlie Brown -- that wasn't the worst part
for the Red Raiders. After a 65-21 drubbing that extinguished
their hopes..."

 Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News: "Oklahoma,
playing a truly
amazing game on offense and defense that no team
in the Big 12 can match, scored four touchdowns before
Texas Tech could get on the board. By halftime, the
Red Raiders trailed by 35 points, and their vaunted
offense had been held to seve..."

 From the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: "Every
element that the Raiders had deployed on the way to
a 10-0 start - pass protection, the run game, Graham
Harrell-to-Mike Crabtree and timely defense - fell
flat on senior night at Owen Field/Memorial Stadium. "It
sours today. It wrecks today. It's disappointing today,''
Leach said..."

 Bruce Campbell of the Enid News: "On
ABC, Oklahoma showed it knew its BCSs.The Sooners delivered
a message in beating No. 2-ranked Texas Tech 65-21
Saturday. Oklahoma has an argument to be in the national
championship game. Now the question will be if the
Sooners won impressively enough to..."

 Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman: "I
would put Oklahoma
ahead (of Texas)," Leach said. "They beat us and
they deserve it." If Saturday's game happened in a
vacuum, this column would unequivocably state that
OU is the best team in college football. And it may
well be. The Sooners look much stronger than they did
in..."

 John Helsley of the Oklahoman: "Sam
stands tall. The Oklahoma offense rolled on, with Bradford pulling
all the right strings. He didn't throw often, yet was
surgically efficient when he did. With the ground game
gouging Texas Tech's defense, Bradford was only needed
for 19 throws. He connected on 14. And four went for..."

 John Hoover of the Tulsa World: "The offensive
line punished the Red Raiders for not crowding
the line with an extra defensive back. OU averaged
5.4 yards per rushing play and gained 299 yards on
the ground. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown had 233
yards and five TDs. Sam Bradford went 14-of-19 for
304..."

 Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman: "The
game was billed as a high-tech showdown of 21st-century
offenses. But OU's 65-21 rout of Texas Tech was won
mostly in
the trenches. The Sooners rushed for 299 yards,
including 226 yards in the first half and a wishbone-like
149 yards in the second quarter alone. Meanwhile, OU's..."

 From the Dallas Morning News: "A crowd
of 85,646 made
its presence known from the opening kickoff. Texas
Tech quarterback Graham Harrell had trouble changing
plays at the line of scrimmage in the no-huddle offense.
And consecutive penalties - for delay of game and a
false start - derailed Tech's second possession. It
all was..."

 Jake Trotter of the Oklahoman: "Statement
delivered. Oklahoma's defense silenced its critics
Saturday night, dismantling the nation's third-best
scoring offense in a 65-21 rout. "We wanted to pound
them," McCoy said. "We wanted to come out and set the
tone early. "I think we sent a message to whoever was
watching. We're for real..."

 Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World: "OU
was given an allotment of 5,000
tickets, priced at $100 apiece. Fans of both the
Cowboys and Sooners have expressed contempt for the
policy. Holder admits that he has been a magnet for
criticism. "We knew that if our team was successful,
and if Oklahoma had their normal good season, and..."

 Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News: "For
new Heisman
frontrunner Sam Bradford, for quicksilver running
back DeMarco Murray, for every player who left Lubbock
beaten and bruised last season, the 65-21 demolition
Saturday of the No. 2 Red Raiders represented a measure
of redemption. The Sooners might get the chance..."

 Jake Trotter of the Oklahoman: "Oklahoma
senior wide receivers Juaquin
Iglesias and Manny Johnson went out on senior night
with two spectacular touchdown receptions. In the second
quarter, Iglesias caught a pass across the middle,
then faked like he was cutting right to freeze Texas
Tech safeties Anthony Hines and Darcel McBath..."

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